JONNY QUEST

Jonny Quest: for action and adventure in exotic locales with a warm family feeling one can't go further than the original Jonny Quest. For me the 1986 version was similar but didn't quite live up to the old one and as for THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST, it just wasn't that good to be honest, despite a raging fandom. This last episode, THE SEA HAUNT shows much of what was great about the show: fear and scary situations amid an exotic location. A sea monster has caused a Dutch ship crew to abandon ship near Sumatra and Borneo. It stalks the ship, still on board, along with a mysterious gold cargo that we find out nothing about. Also on board is a stock cliche and dated Asian character named...uhm, Charlie. The point is that the monster has an aura about it like most Jonny Quest monsters and villains...there is danger and fear and the music. The monster has already killed and we know it. The ship is abandoned and we don't see the crew again...are they all dead? One man had his neck broken. On the negative side, I kept expecting the monster to be there looking for eggs that was stolen ala DEVIL IN THE DARK of STAR TREK but alas, it is just there to menace. It leaves in the end, rather than be killed. At one point, the gang are surrounded by a fire on the ship, deadly sharks in the sea, and the monster itself. This show is about real danger and the tension is real and as the first of its kind this show is amazing even if the minorities are depicted as...well, less than respectfully. In one ep, Quest's gang do away with a bunch of pygmies, evil ones but nevertheless, they deserved to die and die they do. Villains and allies alike, when shot or hurt badly, don't always get up. Death is on this show and that is what made it so dangerous and as a kid, it was scary. It's worth a look now too, the first series and maybe even that second series.